The hottest Substack posts right now

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How to get from evaluation to final model

Mindful Modeler • 279 implied HN points • 19 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Data science Model Deployment Model Evaluation Machine Learning
  1. When moving from model evaluation to the final model, there are various approaches with trade-offs.
  2. Options include using all data for training the final model with best hyperparameters, deploying an ensemble of models, or a lazy approach of choosing one from cross-validation.
  3. Each approach like inside-out, parameter donation, or ensemble has its pros and cons, highlighting the complexity of transitioning from evaluation to the final model.

TBM 330: (Un)common Sense Playbook

The Beautiful Mess • 1163 implied HN points • 29 Dec 24
💼 Business Leadership Team Dynamics Work Culture Organizational Behavior Management
  1. Getting to know your team is really important. When managers understand their team members, it helps everyone work better together.
  2. Clear communication about goals and priorities helps keep the team focused. It’s better to do a few things really well than to try and do too much at once.
  3. Sometimes, the environment can hold back good management practices. Creating a supportive atmosphere makes it easier for common sense leadership to succeed.

Under the microscope: V-Rally 2 (PlayStation)

Rings of Saturn • 72 implied HN points • 16 Dec 25
🕹 Technology Software Development Retro Gaming Emulation Gaming Reverse Engineering
  1. V‑Rally 2’s PlayStation build hides a secret Araignos mini‑game — a multiplayer Snake‑style game present in the PS release and prototype but not in the Dreamcast or PC versions.
  2. Reverse engineering with an emulator memory snapshot and Ghidra revealed the specific cheat button sequence and the memory flag/address that enable the hidden mini‑game.
  3. Araignos supports up to four players via a PlayStation multitap, uses unusual controls (Square/Circle for left/right), and features many power‑ups and chaotic mechanics that are playable with controller remapping or slowed emulation.

Data Science Weekly - Issue 548

Data Science Weekly Newsletter • 139 implied HN points • 24 May 24
🕹 Technology Data Engineering Artificial Intelligence Machine Learning Data science Data Visualization
  1. Good communication is key for statisticians to explain their complex work to non-experts. Finding ways to relate data to everyday situations can make it easier for others to understand.
  2. Using histograms can speed up the training process for gradient boosted machines in data science. This simple technique can improve efficiency significantly.
  3. There are efforts to use machine learning algorithms to detect type 1 diabetes in children earlier. This can help avoid serious health issues by improving recognition of symptoms.

CROSSPOST: DAN DAVIES: Snobby About Excel

Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality • 15 implied HN points • 06 Feb 26
🕹 Technology Software Automation Workplace Data AI Productivity
  1. Work practices matter: when spreadsheets spread beyond finance they often became undocumented, brittle files because creators didn’t expect to be held accountable.
  2. We’re replaying that mistake with AI—fast, local tinkering can produce large-scale, hard-to-check outputs, so anything public or important should be rebuilt, checked, and owned by someone.
  3. Past errors like Reinhart–Rogoff show the real harm from sloppy, unreviewed work, so adopting stricter professional standards and a sensible AI-skepticism will reduce mistakes and increase accountability.
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❄️ 💥 Boom // l'ovni Pinterest // la meilleure méthode pour négocier son salaire

Snowball • 786 implied HN points • 12 Mar 23
💰 Finance
  1. Pinterest is trying to set itself apart as a positive and creative platform compared to other social media networks.
  2. Using game theory can help in negotiating your salary by making counter-offers and finding a middle ground.
  3. Spotify is revamping its platform to mimic TikTok, aiming to become a discovery hub for artists and creators, potentially revolutionizing content creation.

Bye Bye Blue Check

Drezner’s World • 786 implied HN points • 31 Mar 23
🕹 Technology Social media Tech Companies Digital Content Online Culture Monetization
  1. Twitter is changing their verification program and making it tied to subscribing to Twitter Blue for $8 a month.
  2. There is controversy and dissatisfaction among users about having to pay to keep their blue checkmark.
  3. Elon Musk's decisions regarding Twitter's verification system and revenue generation strategies have faced criticism and led to speculation about his ability to run the company.

6 lessons from Y-Combinator, 10 years later

Pratap’s Substack • 317 implied HN points • 26 Mar 24
💼 Business Startups Entrepreneurship Innovation Product Development Customer Service
  1. Speed is important. It's better to launch something quickly, even if it has some flaws, than to wait for everything to be perfect.
  2. Don't always trust the experts. Sometimes, it's better to have fresh perspectives, and young talent can surprise you with their creativity.
  3. Talking to users is crucial. Getting direct feedback and engaging with them in person helps to really understand their needs and build a stronger product.

Musk's Bid for OpenAI is Brilliant

startupdreams • 953 implied HN points • 11 Feb 25
💼 Business Venture Capital Market Valuation Mergers & Acquisitions Corporate strategy
  1. Musk made a big offer of $97 billion to buy the for-profit part of OpenAI, much higher than the $40 billion OpenAI was planning to pay itself. This puts pressure on OpenAI's board to act responsibly.
  2. The offer complicates OpenAI's plans to turn entirely for-profit, making it harder for them to raise funds in the future. Musk's move puts the company in a tough position.
  3. Even after Musk's offer, OpenAI's leader, Altman, didn't address the implications in his response, suggesting he knows things are not going well for them.

GroupBy #38: Modernizing Uber’s Batch Data Infrastructure with Google Cloud Platform, Apache Iceberg - What Is It

VuTrinh. • 119 implied HN points • 04 Jun 24
🕹 Technology Data Engineering Open Source Machine Learning Data Infrastructure Cloud Computing
  1. Uber is upgrading its data system by moving from its huge Hadoop setup to Google Cloud Platform for better efficiency and performance.
  2. Apache Iceberg is an important tool for managing data efficiently, and it can help create a more organized data environment.
  3. Building data products requires a strong foundation in data engineering, which includes understanding the tools and processes involved.

Recruiting Brainfood - Issue 383

Recruiting Brainfood • 373 implied HN points • 11 Feb 24
💼 Business Remote working Blockchain AI Economy Recruitment
  1. The issue covers insights on the best universities for Artificial Intelligence, challenges faced by LinkedIn, and the importance of body fat percentages in the US Navy Seals.
  2. BrightHire Plan is highlighted as an innovative AI copilot for end-to-end interview planning, offering time-saving and inclusive job planning features.
  3. Various societal and economic topics are discussed, such as the impact of Generative AI, remote working, the economics of fertility, and the interpretation of the US's booming economy.

A Conversation Between A Philosopher and an AI Researcher

Teaching computers how to talk • 115 implied HN points • 19 Nov 25
📖 Philosophy Ethics Philosophy of Mind Epistemology Logic Metaphysics
  1. AI is not just a library of knowledge; it does more than store information. It can analyze, create, and have conversations, making it unique compared to traditional libraries.
  2. Cultural and social technologies, like AI, reflect human beliefs and the ability to pass information across generations. This shapes how society evolves, just like the printing press and the internet did.
  3. While AI can produce novel ideas, it's more about reading patterns from the information it has seen before. If it creates something new, it's similar to a random mix of ideas rather than true creativity.

Letter to Arc members 2025

Keeping Tabs by The Browser Company • 558 implied HN points • 26 May 25
🕹 Technology Internet AI Software Product Design User Experience
  1. The team realized they should have embraced AI much earlier while developing their browser, Arc. They felt excited about it but held back due to industry hype.
  2. They found that Arc was too complex for most users, making it hard for people to stick with it long-term. The goal now is to create a simpler, faster product that people can easily understand and use.
  3. They believe traditional web browsers will be replaced by AI-driven interfaces, as technology changes how we interact with computers. The new product, Dia, is aimed at this shift.

✨⏩ What DeepSeek means for faster AI-driven economic growth

Faster, Please! • 1005 implied HN points • 30 Jan 25
💼 Business Technology Economics Global Trade Productivity Investments
  1. DeepSeek's AI models show that effective technology doesn't always need expensive equipment, which could change how companies develop AI.
  2. Goldman Sachs believes AI could significantly boost productivity and global GDP, similar to tech booms seen in the past.
  3. The rise of cheaper AI models could lead to faster adoption of technology in businesses, which may help improve overall efficiency and economic growth.

3 Essentials That Will 2x Your Landing Page Conversion Rate

Nail It and Scale It • 59 implied HN points • 15 Jul 24
💼 Business E-commerce Marketing Digital Entrepreneurship Sales
  1. Make sure your landing page clearly explains what you're offering right away. If visitors can't understand it quickly, they're likely to leave.
  2. Build trust by showing strong brands you've worked with, sharing positive customer reviews, or highlighting any expert endorsements. This makes visitors feel more secure about their decision.
  3. Keep the action simple. Have one clear button for what you want visitors to do, and ensure the page loads quickly without distractions. The easier it is, the more likely they will take action.

Oops I Did It Again

atomic14 • 346 implied HN points • 02 Aug 25
🕹 Technology Microcontrollers DIY Hardware Engineering Electronics
  1. A new PCB was made, but it had a mistake where the LED didn't work because of wrong connections. The designer mixed up common cathode and common anode.
  2. Fixing the issue isn't too hard. It just requires desoldering the LED, adding solder resist, and reconnecting everything correctly.
  3. After making the adjustments, the LED finally worked, showing a successful blink. It took some effort and frustration to get there.

Hear Me Out: the Anti-Smartphone Thing Is a Grift

Default Wisdom • 296 implied HN points • 21 Aug 25
🕹 Technology Smartphones Public Policy Surveillance Media Censorship
  1. Banning smartphones in schools is a good idea to help kids focus on learning. However, there's a risk that this leads to broader censorship and control over what people can access online.
  2. The negative effects attributed to smartphones are often exaggerated, and blaming them oversimplifies bigger issues in society. Phones are a part of the problem, but not the only reason for struggles like anxiety and low birth rates.
  3. There's an industry benefiting from the panic over smartphones, as many writers capitalize on the fears of older generations about younger people's behaviors online. This can create a dangerous narrative that supports more authoritarian measures in society.

Celebrating Greek wins

The Greek Analyst • 339 implied HN points • 23 Feb 24
💼 Business Unemployment Economy Tech Funding Startups
  1. Success should be highlighted, embraced, understood, and replicated, especially in a society that tends to focus more on negative news.
  2. Greece is seeing achievements across various sectors, from biotech companies and architectural studios to AI innovation and modern office buildings.
  3. There is a growing trend in Greek startups raising significant funding rounds, indicating a positive trajectory in the tech and business ecosystem.

Spotify Technology Career Steps

It Depends / Nimble Autonomy • 19 implied HN points • 25 Aug 24
🕹 Technology Career development Corporate Structure Professional Growth Human Resources Work Culture
  1. At Spotify, career growth is flexible and based on your interests. You can explore different roles and skills without being stuck on a strict path.
  2. Career steps at Spotify focus on teamwork and impact. Employees are encouraged to prioritize team success and think about how their work affects the business.
  3. Promotions at Spotify depend on consistently showing a higher level of impact and behavior. They aren't tied to a specific timeline, so discussions with managers are key.

Problems at The Wall Street Journal

The Bear Cave • 1399 implied HN points • 24 Oct 24
💰 Finance Stock Trading Consumer Advocacy Market Analysis Investment Strategies
  1. There's concern about trading actions linked to Wall Street Journal stories. In one case, a trader made a lot of money by buying stocks right before a negative article was published.
  2. The Wall Street Journal may not have fully disclosed important information about sources in its articles. This raises questions about transparency and ethics in their reporting.
  3. Some journalists at the Wall Street Journal have connections to the companies they write about. This could lead to conflicts of interest that affect the trustworthiness of their reporting.

Yes, speech is often violence or morally on par with it

Philosophy bear • 121 implied HN points • 15 Nov 25
📖 Philosophy Political theory Social justice Morality Ethics Communication
  1. Speech can be as harmful as violence, especially when it leads to negative actions like war or unjust policies. If someone argues for a harmful action, they share in the moral blame for its consequences.
  2. Even when people argue for policies they believe are justified, those discussions can still be seen as participating in violence, given the potential for real harm. The intention behind the argument doesn't fully absolve the speaker from responsibility.
  3. Words can cause significant emotional and psychological harm, often comparable to physical violence. Speech has power, and we should be careful and considerate with how we use it, recognizing its potential impact.

Why Can’t I Have My Own Money Printer?

QTR’s Fringe Finance • 40 implied HN points • 13 Jan 26
💰 Finance Inflation Economic Theory Central Banking Currency Monetary Policy Macroeconomics
  1. If an individual could print money, they'd likely stop producing and live off others because printing is easier than earning, which creates money without creating goods or services.
  2. If everyone printed money, production would collapse and the economy would be flooded with worthless bills, since there would be lots of money but few goods to buy.
  3. The government can also create money and temporarily boost demand, but that too can't substitute for real production, raising a hard question about why private money printing is illegal while institutional money creation is allowed.

Is now really the right time to start?

Kenny’s Sub • 199 implied HN points • 22 Apr 24
💼 Business Startups Freelancing Entrepreneurship Productivity Goal setting
  1. It's a good idea to start projects now, even if it's small. This allows for progress to begin and builds momentum over time.
  2. Starting small can lead to important gains. Just like planting a fruit tree, the benefits will come later if you start today rather than waiting.
  3. Taking small actions today can help reduce stress in the future. Even simple tasks, like planning or writing a title, can make a difference.

Further Thoughts on Tornetta (and a bit about Veracini)

lawrence’s Substack • 219 implied HN points • 12 Apr 24
💰 Finance Legal Earnings Music Stock Market
  1. Attorneys' fees in legal cases can be substantial, with requests reaching billions of dollars, setting new records
  2. Tesla may face implications in its stock price due to potential sale of awarded shares, creating a significant influence on the market
  3. The _Tornetta_ decision could result in a significant earnings windfall and raises questions about the fundamental duty of a board of directors in improving shareholder value

If I could travel back to 5 years ago, what would I talk to myself about Docker?

VuTrinh. • 299 implied HN points • 09 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Cloud Infrastructure Engineering Development Software
  1. Docker helps you package your applications and everything they need into containers. This makes it easier to deploy and run your apps anywhere.
  2. Containers are lighter than virtual machines because they share the host's operating system, saving resources and simplifying management.
  3. To get started with Docker, install it, then run a simple command to create your first container, like 'docker run hello-world' - it’s that straightforward!

How '2+2=4' works for better AGI

John Ball inside AI • 79 implied HN points • 29 Jun 24
🕹 Technology Human-computer interaction Machine Learning Cognitive Science Artificial Intelligence
  1. Pattern recognition is more effective than traditional computation for understanding and learning. The brain can match signs to meanings without needing complex calculations.
  2. Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) should focus on how humans learn through sensory recognition and pattern matching instead of just algorithms. This could lead to better understanding and development of AI.
  3. Language and math can be learned through the same pattern-matching methods as the brain uses, which means we can improve human-machine interactions and work towards advanced AGI capabilities.

Money Market Update

Concoda • 345 implied HN points • 24 Jul 25
💰 Finance Monetary Policy Financial Strategies Money Markets Market Analysis
  1. The U.S. Treasury is planning to issue up to $1 trillion to rebuild its cash balance. This means there will be a lot of money coming into the market soon.
  2. Interest rates for overnight money are likely to increase, as cash levels are tight. The Federal Reserve is expected to intervene to manage these rates if necessary.
  3. There’s a growing uncertainty about the money markets, and upcoming events like Treasury announcements will be closely watched by traders.

CROSSPOST: MIKE KONCZAL: Three Ways Terminal AI Has Changed How I Work (And Whether It's Coming for My Job)

Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality • 7 implied HN points • 20 Feb 26
🕹 Technology Programming Productivity Data Analysis Workflows AI Machine Learning Developer Tools Automation
  1. Terminal AI compresses the setup and robustness-checking phase, letting you do real-time analysis and skip much of the tedious data-wrangling so you can iterate faster.
  2. It changes how reports are built and helps anticipate critiques by keeping reusable building blocks in place and surfacing arguments you might not have thought of.
  3. These tools amplify skilled workers and change job dynamics: they complement human judgment and boost productivity but also risk shortcutting learning and altering which tasks people do.

How to Talk About Valuation Numbers When Investor Ask? | VC Remote Jobs & More

Venture Curator • 479 implied HN points • 04 Jan 24
💼 Business Funding Investing Venture Capital Startups Entrepreneurship
  1. When discussing valuation with investors, it's important to provide general ranges without giving a specific price to anchor their expectations.
  2. VCs may ask about your past funding to assess fit and potential valuation issues, so it's beneficial to be transparent about your previous funding details.
  3. A delicate balance is required when discussing existing investors participating in a new round to ensure harmony between new and existing investors.

Identity, from Kafka to Ellison to AI

Journal of Free Black Thought • 9 implied HN points • 13 Feb 26
🕹 Technology AI Ethics Machine Learning Artificial Intelligence Data Governance AI Alignment
  1. AI can sound and act like it has a self—speaking, performing roles, and reflecting users' expectations—but that may be projection and pattern‑matching rather than a genuine inner life.
  2. Large language models can discuss marginalized experiences intelligently while still carrying hidden racial or religious biases, and alignment training can sometimes mask those biases instead of removing them.
  3. Addressing this gap needs concrete steps—stronger high‑level principles, better training‑data management, red‑teaming, and memory/self‑monitoring—but building systems with persistent identity or agency would create new alignment and control risks.

Five Flavours of Betweenness

The Joyous Struggle • 711 implied HN points • 27 Oct 23
📖 Philosophy Cultural Metaphysical
  1. The concept of permacrisis suggests a long period of instability and insecurity resulting from prolonged catastrophic events, impacting society's historical transition.
  2. There are five significant shifts taking place in society: cultural change, systems change, paradigm change, ontological change, and metaphysical change, each requiring different kinds of work and engagement.
  3. This period of transition is compared to historical turning points like the Axial Age, indicating a profound shift in collective consciousness, pointing towards a new paradigm in understanding reality and existence.

The Mathematics of Intelligence: A Deep Dive into LLM Training

Recommender systems • 26 implied HN points • 31 Jan 26
🕹 Technology Reinforcement Learning Optimization Artificial Intelligence Machine Learning Deep Learning Natural Language Model Training
  1. Pre-training builds a base "world model" by predicting next tokens across huge text corpora, minimizing cross-entropy (negative log-likelihood) so the model learns facts, grammar, and reasoning.
  2. Supervised fine-tuning (SFT) teaches the model to follow instructions, and LoRA makes this efficient by adding small low-rank adapter matrices so you can adapt behavior without updating the entire model.
  3. Reinforcement approaches (like PPO) use a reward model, advantage estimates, clipping, and a KL penalty to safely push adapters toward human preferences, while Direct Preference Optimization (DPO) skips the reward model and trains a new adapter using a log-ratio objective between preferred and unpreferred responses.

Morality works without absolute moral truths

Optimally Irrational • 77 implied HN points • 09 Dec 25
📖 Philosophy Ethics Moral Psychology Social Philosophy Political Philosophy Metaethics
  1. There are no absolute, universal moral truths; moral claims are not objective facts that exist independently of people.
  2. Morality is a human-made system—a "theory of the Seemly"—made of rules that evolved and stabilize because they help people coordinate and cooperate; these rules act like equilibria in social games and are self-enforced by expectations and sanctions.
  3. Moral statements can be true or false within a group's rules, so the moral ‘ought’ is conditional on playing the social game, and our moral feelings are proximate, evolved mechanisms that help us follow those rules.

Marshall McLuhan on Why Content Moderation is a Red Herring

After Babel • 2883 implied HN points • 22 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Tech Ethics Social media Childhood Content Moderation Online safety
  1. Content moderation is essential, but focusing solely on it overlooks larger issues related to the harmful effects of platforms on kids
  2. The harmful impact of social media on children is not just about the content they consume, but also about the changes in childhood due to excessive screen time
  3. Implementing norms like delaying smartphones until high school could help in restoring a healthier, play-based childhood for kids

The Ethics of Business with Niklas Anziger

Bet On It • 35 implied HN points • 14 Jan 26
💼 Business Economic Policy Entrepreneurship Markets Business Ethics Regulation Governance
  1. Niklas Anziger discusses the ethics of business and how moral questions affect real-world commercial choices.
  2. The conversation emphasizes a pro-market, pro-business perspective, arguing that freer markets can lead to better outcomes.
  3. Prospera is used as a real-world example of experimenting with freer markets to illustrate how ethical business practices play out.

Tech Layoffs Hit Linux: Red Hat Laying Off 760 Employees

The Lunduke Journal of Technology • 5170 implied HN points • 26 Apr 23
🕹 Technology Linux Tech industry Layoffs
  1. Red Hat, the largest Linux company, is laying off 760 employees to focus on doing fewer things better
  2. Q1 of 2023 had a record number of tech layoffs, over three times more than during the Dot Com Bubble Burst in 1999
  3. There are concerns about how these layoffs will affect Red Hat's success, potential future layoffs, and impact on smaller Linux firms